To knock on the head a falsehood that gets endlessly repeated. Russell Brand has not said do not vote, he has questioned casting a vote to prop up a corrupt and failed political system. That is what politicians want you to do, cast your vote, then post-election day, do nothing, do not participate, let them continue ruining our lives.

What Russell Brand has proposed, is that we have a Revolution and overthrow the present corrupt political system, but if you have a chance to vote in a candidate of the calibre of Caroline Lucas who actually acts for the people then yes get out and vote.

Bankers and other elites have power because corrupt politicians gave it to them.

The Tories, having used austerity for Shock Doctrine, slash and burn of public services, cuts to benefits, want five more years to finish the job. Five more years of library closures, privatisation of NHS, longer hospital waiting times, cuts to welfare benefits, five more years for the rich to double their wealth yet again, as they have done over the last five years.

We must have more grass roots activism, that people are prepared to take direct action to force social change.

Listen to the great borefest that is General Election 2015. It is politicians telling us vote for them, and they will spend the next five years telling us what to do, and spending our money. It is not, we will work with you, listen to you, hand power to you.

If you live in Brighton, get out and vote for Caroline Lucas, get your friends out.

Over 9 million people follow Russell Brand on twitter, over a million subscribers to The Trews. How many live in the UK? Let us assume, that every one who does live in the UK, goes out and votes Plaid Cymru, SNP and the Green Party. Think what shock waves that would send through the system, the message to the political establishment? Don’t just think about it, go out and do it, then plan what real political action you are going to take.

Shame on the BBC, that for BBC Question Time they did not invite either the Green Party or UKIP to participate.

Facts? Who needs facts when you can make it up, and the gullible brain-dead readers can be relied upon to regurgitate as facts.

I experienced this today, when having a drink with a friend. A moron on a neighbouring table got all excited about fracking (a wonderful idea), did not like SNP, who he claimed was in favour of fracking (they are not), that they were taking over in England (it was pointed out they were only standing in Scotland), but his coup de grâce, was to tell us that at this very moment, Alex Salmond was writing the Labour Party manifesto. When asked did he have an original thought of his own in his head, rather than regurgitate from mainstream media (no doubt The Sun), and that he ought to get out and about about a bit more, he kindly informed me he had travelled the world killing people and offered to kick my head in. A real charmer.

Why vote? Yes, the Suffragettes fought for votes for women, blood was shed, but why vote, if that vote is wasted, if Big Business is pulling the strings politicians whores for hire, prostituting to the highest bidder?

A spirited defence by Ed Milband, good examples given, NHS, workers rights (most of which the Tories have destroyed).

Ed Miliband also makes the point, would not have happened, could not have happened, without a push from the people.

People power matters.

Break up the banks, split casino banking from retail banking. Put a few bankers in prison.

Set up local, community owned and controlled power grids. Renewables feed into the local grid, get a fair guaranteed price, consumers pay a fair price, surplus from the local grid is fed to other local grids, any profit is either fed back into the local grid or goes to support local, social enterprises, open co-ops, collaborative commons. The Big Six would then become an irrelevance

Break up the media ownership. Limit what any one person or corporation can control.

If Ed Miliband genuinely wants to see people working with politicians, then let us see a genuine commitment to participatory democracy. Let us also see support for open coops, social enterprises, collaborative commons, all networking together.

If Ed Milband wants to see these things happen, then he has to be prepared to work with Plaid Cymru, SNP and the Green Party in a loose alliance. He also has to be prepared to end austerity.

Ed Miliband came accross quite well, a genuine conversation, not the usual meaningless sound bites. To his credit, he was willing to appear. This is probably the best interview Ed Milband has ever done.

Somewhat late setting setting off for London, but had I set off earlier, it probably would not have made much difference, as no trains for two hours, due to someone being killed on the line. The train I caught was ten minutes late, then ran very slowly.

At Waterloo Station, many people milling around. I assume due to many cancelled and delayed trains.

Hungerfotd Bridge

From Waterloo Station a pleasant walk to Covent Garden.

view downstream from Hungerford Bridge

The view downstream from Hungerford Bridge, one of the finest views in London, or was. A view of St Paul’s, but now being destroyed by ugly high rise buildings.

I could have caught a No 26 bus, but could not see where from, and no one knew either. But I was told Liverpool Street Station was not far and how to get there. And so I caught the tube from Liverpool Street.

Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders, who decided not to prosecute Lord Janner for vile sex crimes on the grounds he had dementia, that it was not in the public interest, shared the same Chambers as Lord Janner.

There has never been an explanation of how it is in the public interest not to prosecute.

Was it in the public interest to mount a cover-up for the last 20 years?

It is a basic tenet of justice, a fair trial, and that is a fair trial for the victims as well as the accused.

No matter how vile the crimes alleged, if the accused is not fit to stand trial, the trial does not go ahead.

We are told Lord Janner has dementia. This has never been tested in open court.

After he was diagnosed with dementia, he hosted banquets at the House of Lords, all at our expense.

Fit to host a a few banquets, but not fit to stand trial.

Victims could mount a civil case, sue for damages, force a third-party examination for dementia.

Reportedly he transferred ownership of his £2 million home to his children in March 2014 – the same month that police raided his Westminster office (no wonder the family proclaim his innocence). Unfit to stand trial, but fit and quick-witted enough to transfer assets out of the hands of potential creditors.

Since he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2009, Lord Janner has claimed more than £100,000 in parliamentary expenses and allowances. On 9 April 2015, he was fit enough to sign a letter saying he wanted to remain in the House of Lords.

Cast minds back to Ernest Saunders and the Guinness Affair. The biggest fraud trial in England. There has been no more large fraud trials due to political interference, it casts the City of London in a bad light.

Ernest Saunders was found guilty. Ernest Saunders was released early on the grounds he had dementia. Once released, it was as Private Eye said at the time, the only known miraculous cure from dementia. Out of jail, Saunders was back in business.

Property developer Gerald Ronson, co-conspirator with Saunders, claimed it was his idea to play the dementia card.

Dementia is a favourite. Appear to have lost your mind, a drooling imbecile.

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet walked free from human rights charges due to dementia. Remarkable recovery when he stepped off the plane in Chile.

Rupert Murdoch, a drooling baboon when he appeared before House of Commons Select Committee, knew nothing about anything. Back in New York, fighting fit, fully in control

The judge tasked with reviewing the mistakes that prevented Janner from being brought to trial in the past was a close friend of the barrister hired to defend Janner against claims of abuse.

Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders should resign. If she refuses to resign, she should be fired. She is not fit to hold the post. It is not in the public interest that she remain. The police, the victims, the public, have lost all confidence in her.

Lord Janner should be put in trial. It should be the judge, sitting in open court, depending upon the evidence brought to court, who decides whether or not Janner is fit to stand trail, not Alison Saunders behind closed doors.

Until such time that Lord Janner is brought to trial, justice will not seen to have been done.

We live in a capitalist economy, based on exchange of goods and services using the medium of money. When we buy or sell something, we make an agreed exchange of value. In theory nobody wins and nobody loses, but in practise the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Is there an alternative?

If we all valued other people as much as we value ourselves, a culture of giving could create a different sort of economy. An economy based on ‘loving our neighbour as ourselves’; where as we look after the interests of others, we can feel secure in the knowledge that others are looking after our interests. I know that this seems idealistic, but bear with me as we explore the matter further.

You have spoken a lot of rhetoric about “people who want to work hard and get on”. It sounds fine. Few people would argue with supporting those who want to work hard and get on. But this language automatically excludes as at best insignificant or at worst worthless one particular category of people.

There are some people who, by reason of severe, usually multiple, disabilities, will never be able to be gainfully employed. My daughter is one example. She is in her early thirties and lives in a residential care home. She has quadriparetic cerebral palsy, a learning disability, autism and partial sight. Please don’t feel sorry for her. She has a very good quality of life.

I read a policy document which your government has published on the subject of disabled people. It was called “Fulfilling Potential”. In many ways it was a laudable document. It…

The number of Trussell Trust food banks has risen eight-fold in just five years, to 445. Its most recent accounts show an annual income of nearly £3.4 million.

Many of those dependent upon food banks, are caused by the arbitrary sanctions being handed out by Job Centres.

A question mark though needs to be raised against the Trussell Trust.

For the Trussell Trust, food banks have become Big Business. Their recent claim of a million people dependent upon food banks has proved to be false. They have handed out a million food parcels, not quite the same thing.

But it gets worse, they have been charging local volunteers and churches what amounts to little more than franchising fees, £1,500 to set up food banks. telling them the money is needed for ‘branding and PR’ and ongoing fees of £350 a year.

The pitch to prospective punters says:

We’ll provide you with all the tools, training and know-how that you need to start a foodbank so that people in crisis in your town don’t have to go hungry.

They are told they will be given a website, publicity materials and ‘opportunities to talk to the Press’ among other benefits.

Foodbanks are asked to make a £1,500 donation towards these costs.

Last week I found the baskets outside Waitrose Farnham had leaflets inside asking for donations to Trussell Trust. I have never seen a food bank in Farnham, or mention of on church notice boards, but I assume one must exit. But why not Waitrose donate the food?

Waitrose likes to project a green social image, workers are colleagues, partners in the busines, which in reality is little more than greenwash. John Lewis, outsources the cleaners who are on minimum wage (though this may change).

If you want to set up a food bank, you do not need Trussell Trust. In Lincoln, a church gets donations from farms, from shops, and serves it up to the homeless.

And why set up a food bank? Set up a social enterprise cafe, intercept waste food, serve as delicious meals on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis.

These social enterprises should also be helping the fight against benefit sanctions. Always appeal.